CARDIFF: Waqar Younis slammed a suggestion by England captain Eoin Morgan that a used pitch had been responsible for their downfall after Pakistan thrashed the tournament hosts by eight wickets in a dramatically one-sided Champions Trophy semi-final at Cardiff on Wednesday.
Pakistan bowled England out for just 211, in an era where 300 is considered a one-day international ´par score´, after captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and fielded.
They then cruised to their victory target finishing on 215 for two with a massive 77 balls to spare.
“Coming from Edgbaston which was a good wicket to a used wicket, we didn´t adapt very well,” Morgan told Sky Sports.
That prompted Pakistan fast-bowling great Waqar to tweet: “Stop giving that lame excuse Eoin Morgan regarding the used pitch,,,,You guys been thrashed fair n square by Pakistan #CT2017 #PakvsEng.”
Pakistan had played in Cardiff on Monday, beating Sri Lanka in what was a virtual quarter-final, and Morgan added: “Pakistan did that (adapt) extremely well and full credit to them.
“They outplayed us today on this wicket. I don´t think we were simply used to it. We did prepare like we were going to play on a used wicket,” said the former Ireland batsman.
“Pakistan bowled well but we didn´t manage to adjust with the bat. Two hundred isn´t a competitive score.”
Pakistan could face arch-rivals India in Sunday´s final at the Oval if the title-holders beat Bangladesh in Thursday´s second semi-final at Edgbaston.
